Zamak 3 vs. Synthetic Sapphire
Zamak 3 and synthetic sapphire belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Zamak 3 is a metal, while synthetic sapphire is a ceramic material. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 19 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (23, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is Zamak 3 and the bottom bar is synthetic sapphire.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Compressive (Crushing) Strength, MPa | 410 | |
| 2700 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 86 | |
| 450 |
| Fracture Toughness, MPa-m1/2 | 12 | |
| 1.9 |
| Knoop Hardness | 110 | |
| 1860 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.25 | |
| 0.28 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 33 | |
| 150 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 280 | |
| 2470 |
Thermal Properties
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 95 | |
| 2000 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 380 | |
| 2050 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 410 | |
| 760 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 110 | |
| 30 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 27 | |
| 5.3 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 6.4 | |
| 4.0 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 7.5 | |
| 63 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 23 | |
| 64 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 12 | |
| 170 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 15 | |
| 100 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 43 | |
| 9.9 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 8.6 | |
| 74 |